The First Report of the American Society for Meliorating the Condition of the Jews.

The first of many annual reports of the American Society for Meliorating the Condition of the Jews. Organized in 1820, the primary objective of the Society was to better the condition of the Jews by converting them to Christianity, a tactic that produced the inevitable backlash within the Jewish community. The Society hoped that conversion would bring the Jews not only spiritual salvation, but worldly improvement through education. This report recounts the history of the American Society and of similar groups in Europe, and describes their proposed tactics - the publication of a monthly journal, called Israel’s Advocate, benevolent interaction with Jews, and prayer. A statement of finances is included, as are the speeches made at the Society’s annual meeting and the names of officers around the United States. See Lorman Ratner, Conversion of the Jews and Pre-Civil War Reform, in: American Quarterly, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Spring, 1961), pp. 43-54.